Day by day inside his darkened castle Sephiroth watched Rosalina sleep quietly in her crystal prison, waiting for the day she would wake up and speak to him. She was his guiding light through a neverending darkness that consumed his soul and he would have died if it weren't for her, the sun to his moon, day to his night, as well as his very reason for living so to speak. The way Rosalina looked to Sephiroth was like a beautiful doll inside a transparent box made of either crystal or glass to be gazed at but never touched. He also protected her from the elements that would threaten to destroy her shell and anyone who dared to so much as glance upon her heavenly figure without his permission.

She was many things to other beings, a servant of the gods, a harbinger of death, etc. To the silverette, she was the fire that melted the ice encasing his heart many years ago and everything he ever treasured. Rosalina meant that much to him and he would keep her safe from any harm that came her way just as he had been doing all this time. His emerald, catlike eyes admired every part of her from the numerous strands of hair adorning her head to everything else about the blonde. Every part of Sephiroth was for Rosalina, his arms to hold her, sword to protect her from any foe, even his own soul was for her to use however she pleased and he didn't care how she used it.

She was a symbol of beauty at least to him and if anything or anyone dared to tarnish that beauty would be met with the swift vengeance by the edge of his blade. If Rosalina woke up it was only for a few minutes, she didn't talk much but only asked questions about the outside world. Sephiroth either didn't have the answers or if he did he wouldn't tell her, it would be better for her to remain innocent and oblivious of the outside as the truth always hurt. An angel of the heavens and a demon from the underworld, both were shunned from their own realms but made a place on Earth.

Two of her siblings paid him a visit on two separate occasions. A green haired woman in white demanded that Sephiroth release Rosalina from her crystal box, while a blonde man in black came to kill him in order to free her. He refused them both, as the spell cast on the blonde angel was not his doing. He also didn't want her to be free, she would be lost to him forever if she was. She and her siblings all shared the trait of stubbornness to a degree.

Once freed from her crystal trap, Rosalina would fight until the end of time to her very last breath, in the afterlife and so on. She'd fight without him as his angel always fought alone. It was reason enough to keep her locked up in his castle out of pure selfishness on his part.

"What time is it, Sephiroth?" Then she awoke, dully asking the same question over and over.

"Time means nothing to us, Rosalina."

"I only want to know when the end comes."

"Even if you know it's coming, what can you do, Rosalina? As an angel of fate you know better than anyone that once fate is written it can never be changed."

Rosalina was at a loss for words for several seconds, knowing greatly that what Sephiroth said was true. Regardless of whether she was trapped in crystal or not, there was absolutely nothing she could do to change fate and it hurt like a knife through her heart. Several more seconds passed before she decided to change the subject.

"Have you heard from either them? Byleth and Richter?"

"Them? Ah, you mean the mercenary and the vampire hunter."

"Right."

"They perished ages ago. You would have known when they came here asking for a way to heaven."

"Why didn't you tell them they had no chance against Galeem? Why didn't you tell them they would die if they so much as even tried. If you said something, Byleth and Richter would have survived."

"To survive longer and die a cowardly death like most mortals or to die an honorable death, they chose the latter. Just like you, they couldn't give up without fighting to their last breath. That was their fate, Rosalina. The mercenary was to serve as your human host, while the vampire hunter had no hope of being reborn, his soul would eventually fade into nothingness. As we are fated to stay trapped here and wait for our end, death was the only escape from fate's clutches and sadly we don't deserve such an honor."

A few moments of silence passed before Rosalina let out a bitter, humorless chuckle devoid of any mirth or amusement.

"Seems we will have to wait then."

"Yes but it will come soon."

"Rosalina?"

"Yes, Sephiroth?"

"May I still call you by your name until time's end?"

"You promised!"

Sephiroth's laughter seemed to oddly echo through the gloomy halls of the chamber. "Thanks for reminding me."

"You're very talkative today."

"Strange. I usually don't talk as much when you spend all your time sleeping."

"The end isn't here yet and the sun still shines."

"It will shine until it can shine no longer, promise me you will too."

Unfortunately, Sephiroth's request was never answered.